ENG 3U7--Blog Topic #3

Hey 3U7--Please choose one of the following topics on which to post a response, and then comment briefly on someone else's post.

Option 1: Lear claims to be "a man/More sinned against than sinning" (3.2.60-61); doing so, he suggests that the treatment that Goneril and Regan offer him is worse than the treatment he offered them. This would seem in many ways to be the crux of interpreting King Lear. Please ponder Lear's claim in the context of the reading that seems to be embedded in either Shakespeare's play text, the Masterpiece Theatre presentation starring Ian Holm, or in Susanna Hamnet's play, Nearly Lear.

Option 2: The cosmic and human cruelty that characterizes the world of King Lear was somewhat mitigated by the comedy offered by Susanna Hamnet in her Nearly Lear. During our question period she explained her approach as being motivated by a desire to offer the audience an emotional break from the "horror" of the play. Did you find this approach to be effective? Is it consistent with Shakespeare's own project?

Option 3: Susanna Hamnet left off her interpretation of King Lear with a video presentation of Lear and Cordelia in younger, happier days. She explained this as an attempt to transcend the tragedy of Shakespeare's conclusion with a simple, spiritual truth. Do you think it was an effective strategy? Did it make you think about King Lear differently?